When selling products on Shopify, there are cases where you want to restrict customers from purchasing products with different shipping methods — such as refrigerated, frozen, and ambient — at the same time.
In this article, we'll explain how to use the Shopify app "RuffRuff Order Limits" to allow bundling only among products of the same shipping type. We'll also cover how to achieve a more flexible bundle restriction that includes exception products which can be bundled regardless of shipping type.
What Is RuffRuff Order Limits
RuffRuff Order Limits is a Shopify app that lets you implement quantity limits, price limits, bundle limits, customer limits, payment limits, delivery limits, and access limits all with a single app.
Using this app, you can implement the following kinds of bundle restrictions.
✔ Cannot be bundled with other products
✔ Can only be bundled with variations of the same product
✔ Can only be bundled with products from the same vendor
✔ Can only be bundled with products from the same collection
✔ Can only be bundled with products within the same rule, with novelty items allowed as an exception
✔ Cannot be purchased as a single item
The blog article below explains how to use RuffRuff Order Limits to implement a variety of bundle restrictions. Please use it as a reference.
How to Set Up a Restriction That Only Allows Bundling of Products with the Same Shipping Type
Outcome
For example, if you have the following three groups of products, this sets up a control where products within group ① can be purchased together with each other, but products in group ① cannot be purchased together with products in groups ② or ③.
- ① Products shipped at ambient temperature
- ② Products shipped refrigerated
- ③ Products shipped frozen
Bundling Compatibility Table
This table shows whether the product on the vertical axis and the product on the horizontal axis can be added to the cart together.
| Product in group ① | Product in group ② | Product in group ③ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product in group ① | ◯Can be bundled | X Cannot be bundled | X Cannot be bundled |
| Product in group ② | X Cannot be bundled | ◯Can be bundled | X Cannot be bundled |
| Product in group ③ | X Cannot be bundled | X Cannot be bundled | ◯Can be bundled |
Demo Product
Below is a demo product configured with the same settings as this article. Please check out the actual behavior.
Preparation: Install the App and Enable the Embedded App
(1) Install RuffRuff Order Limits from the Shopify app store
You can find "RuffRuff Order Limits" by searching for "ruffruff" in the Shopify App Store.
(2) Open the app and select "Pricing plans" from the left menu
Using the app may require a paid plan. Subscribe to the appropriate app plan based on your business scale and required features.
(3) Click "Change plan" for the plan you want to subscribe to
(4) Review the plan details and click "Approve"
(5) From the Shopify admin, go to "Online Store"
(6) Select "Themes" and click "Customize"
(7) Select "App embeds" on the left of the screen
(8) Enable the app embed named "RuffRuff Order Limits"
(9) Click "Save"
Step 1: Create a Collection for Each Shipping Type
Create a separate collection for each group of products that has a different shipping type.
Please refer to the blog article below for how to create collections.
(1) Create an "Ambient collection" containing "① products shipped at ambient temperature"
(2) Create a "Refrigerated collection" containing "② products shipped refrigerated"
(3) Create a "Frozen collection" containing "③ products shipped frozen"
Note: Make sure each collection you create has a "published" status on the Online Store sales channel. A collection must be "published" to be used in a bundle rule.
Step 2: Create Bundle Rules
For this setup, we'll create two bundle rules: one that allows bundling among products within the "Ambient collection," and one that allows bundling among products within the "Refrigerated collection."
By creating these two bundle rules, products in the "Frozen collection" also become unable to be bundled with the other collections, so products within the "Frozen collection" naturally end up able to be bundled with each other.
Create the Bundle Rule for the Ambient Collection
(1) Select "Bundle rules" in the app
(2) Click "Create rule"
(3) Enter any rule name in the title field
(4) Select "Within rule" as the bundle limit level
(5) Select the "Ambient collection" as the collection you want to restrict for eligible items
(6) Enter any text in the alert message
(7) Click "Save"
Create the Bundle Rule for the Refrigerated Collection
![In the same way as [Create the Bundle Rule for the Ambient Collection] above, create a bundle rule for the \](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0660/8358/6101/files/TsunShot_2025-02-10_at_16.55.41_2x_804aae03-d9f0-4c0e-b18f-30883fb76795.png?v=1739176052)
In the same way as [Create the Bundle Rule for the Ambient Collection] above, create a bundle rule for the "Refrigerated collection."
Step 3: Verify the Behavior
Check that things work as follows.
● When you add products of the same shipping type to the cart together, they can be added to the cart successfully.
For example, add products from "① products shipped at ambient temperature" to the cart together.
● When you add products of different shipping types to the cart together, an alert message is displayed.
For example, add a product from "① products shipped at ambient temperature" and a product from "③ products shipped frozen" to the cart together.
If it works without issues, the setup is complete.
Bonus: How to Set Up Exception Products That Can Be Bundled with Any Shipping Type
Outcome
For example, if you have the following groups of products, this sets up a control where products within group ① and products in group ④ can be purchased together, but products in group ① cannot be purchased together with products in groups ② or ③.
- ① Products shipped at ambient temperature
- ② Products shipped refrigerated
- ③ Products shipped frozen
- ④ Products with no issue regardless of shipping type
Bundling Compatibility Table
This table shows whether the product on the vertical axis and the product on the horizontal axis can be added to the cart together.
| Product in group ① | Product in group ② | Product in group ③ | Product in group ④ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product in group ① | ◯Can be bundled | X Cannot be bundled | X Cannot be bundled | ◯Can be bundled |
| Product in group ② | X Cannot be bundled | ◯Can be bundled | X Cannot be bundled | ◯Can be bundled |
| Product in group ③ | X Cannot be bundled | X Cannot be bundled | ◯Can be bundled | ◯Can be bundled |
| Product in group ④ | ◯Can be bundled | ◯Can be bundled | ◯Can be bundled | ◯Can be bundled |
Step 1: Create a Collection for the Exception Products
In addition to the collections created in the [How to Set Up a Restriction That Only Allows Bundling of Products with the Same Shipping Type] section above, create an "Exception collection" containing "④ products with no issue regardless of shipping type."
Note: Make sure the collection you create has a "published" status on the Online Store sales channel. A collection must be "published" to be used in a bundle rule.
Step 2: Configure the Exclusion in the Bundle Rules
Set the "Exception collection" as the excluded items in each of the two bundle rules created in the section above.
Step 3: Verify the Behavior
Check that things work as follows.
● When you add products of the same shipping type to the cart together, they can be added to the cart successfully.
For example, add products from "① products shipped at ambient temperature" to the cart together.
● When you add products of different shipping types to the cart together, an alert message is displayed.
For example, add a product from "① products shipped at ambient temperature" and a product from "③ products shipped frozen" to the cart together.
● When you add an exception product to the cart, it can be added to the cart successfully.
For example, add a product from "① products shipped at ambient temperature" and a product from "④ products with no issue regardless of shipping type" to the cart together.
If it works without issues, the setup is complete.
Conclusion
By using RuffRuff Order Limits, you can set up the following kinds of flexible bundle rules on your Shopify store.
Bundle restrictions by shipping type
Control so that products with different shipping methods — ambient, refrigerated, frozen, and so on — cannot be purchased together.
Products of the same shipping type can be added to the cart together without issue.
Configuring exception products
By setting products such as novelty items, or products that can be bundled regardless of shipping method, as exceptions, you can achieve flexible operation.
Displaying alert messages
Show customers a clear alert when they try to add products with different shipping types to their cart together.
These settings help prevent shipping issues before they happen and improve the customer experience. RuffRuff Order Limits is also a multi-functional app beyond bundle limits, offering quantity limits, price limits, customer limits, and more, so it can meet a wide range of needs for store operations. Please use this article as a reference to help streamline your store's operations.
